Paintbrush Sleeve

ABSTRACT

A paintbrush sleeve, and a method of using the paintbrush sleeve, to keep bristles of a paintbrush moist, including a sleeve member configured to retain moisture, wherein the sleeve member is configured to snugly fit at least partially over the bristles of the paintbrush.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.17/847,718, filed Jun. 23, 2022, the entire content of which isincorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present general inventive concept relates to paintbrush maintenance,and, more particularly, to a paintbrush sleeve to keep paintbrushbristles moist.

BACKGROUND

Painting can be difficult and time-consuming work, and is made ever moredifficult and time-consuming due to cleaning paintbrushes one or moretimes before a painting job is complete. For example, if a painter istaking a lunch break, or breaking for the day before a job is complete,the painter may typically clean the paintbrush being used so that thewet paint on the brush does not dry. Therefore, not only is ittime-consuming to clean the brush each time this happens, but it is alsonot friendly to the environment to keep sending the paint cleaned off ofthe brush to any of the various places that such pain eventually endsup. Another problem is that the upper part of the bristles of thepaintbrush do not move or get resupplied with paint like the distal endsof the bristles are, and thus the upper part tends to dry out evenduring the active portion of the paint job. Thus, it would be desirableto have a system to be able to store the brush at least temporarilywhile it is still wet with paint, and to keep the upper bristles moistduring the painting process.

BRIEF SUMMARY

According to various example embodiments of the present generalinventive concept, a paintbrush sleeve, and a method of using thepaintbrush sleeve, is provided to prevent at least a heel of thebristles, or portion of the bristles adjacent the heel, of thepaintbrush from drying out during and/or in between painting operations.

Additional aspects and advantages of the present general inventiveconcept will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and,in part, will be obvious from the description, or may be learned bypractice of the present general inventive concept.

The foregoing and/or other aspects and advantages of the present generalinventive concept may be achieved by providing a paintbrush sleeve tokeep bristles of a paintbrush moist, including a sleeve memberconfigured to retain moisture, wherein the sleeve member is configuredto snugly fit at least partially over the bristles of the paintbrush.

The foregoing and/or other aspects and advantages of the present generalinventive concept may also be achieved by providing a method of caringfor a paintbrush, the method including providing a sleeve memberconfigured to fit snugly over at least a portion of bristles of thepaintbrush, placing the sleeve member over at least the portion of thebristles, and moistening the sleeve member so as to prevent at least theportion of the bristles surrounded by the sleeve member from drying out.

Other features and aspects may be apparent from the following detaileddescription, the drawings, and the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The following example embodiments are representative of exampletechniques and structures designed to carry out the objects of thepresent general inventive concept, but the present general inventiveconcept is not limited to these example embodiments. In the accompanyingdrawings and illustrations, the sizes and relative sizes, shapes, andqualities of lines, entities, and regions may be exaggerated forclarity. A wide variety of additional embodiments will be more readilyunderstood and appreciated through the following detailed description ofthe example embodiments, with reference to the accompanying drawings inwhich:

FIGS. 1-2 illustrate a paintbrush sleeve and method of use according toan example embodiment of the present general inventive concept;

FIGS. 3A-B illustrate a paintbrush sleeve and method of use according toanother example embodiment of the present general inventive concept; and

FIG. 4 illustrates a paintbrush sleeve according to still anotherexample embodiment of the present general inventive concept.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made to the example embodiments of the presentgeneral inventive concept, examples of which are illustrated in theaccompanying drawings and illustrations. The example embodiments aredescribed herein in order to explain the present general inventiveconcept by referring to the figures.

The following detailed description is provided to assist the reader ingaining a comprehensive understanding of the structures and fabricationtechniques described herein. Accordingly, various changes, modification,and equivalents of the structures and fabrication techniques describedherein will be suggested to those of ordinary skill in the art. Theprogression of fabrication operations described are merely examples,however, and the sequence type of operations is not limited to that setforth herein and may be changed as is known in the art, with theexception of operations necessarily occurring in a certain order. Also,description of well-known functions and constructions may be simplifiedand/or omitted for increased clarity and conciseness.

Note that spatially relative terms, such as “up,” “down,” “right,”“left,” “beneath,” “below,” “lower,” “above,” “upper” and the like, maybe used herein for ease of description to describe one element orfeature's relationship to another element(s) or feature(s) asillustrated in the figures. Spatially relative terms are intended toencompass different orientations of the device in use or operation inaddition to the orientation depicted in the figures. For example, if thedevice in the figures is turned over or rotated, elements described as“below” or “beneath” other elements or features would then be oriented“above” the other elements or features. Thus, the exemplary term “below”can encompass both an orientation of above and below. The device may beotherwise oriented (rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and thespatially relative descriptors used herein interpreted accordingly.

Paintbrushes are typically constructed with three main parts, being thehandle, the ferrule, and the bristles. When painting, the distal end ortip of the brush is active in spreading the paint, while the upper partof the bristles, sometimes referred to as the heel, is mostly inactive.The upper part of the bristles retain paint that is prone to drying outduring a painting operation, due to the relative non-movement whencompared to the tips of the bristles, which are often moving duringstrokes of the brush, and being resupplied with fresh paint. The upperportion of the bristles proximate the ferrule are bound tightly, and assuch do not move like the lower part of the bristles. Thus, the dryingof the paint on the upper portion of the bristles often causes the userto have to scrub the bristles with a wire brush or the like to clean thebrush after a painting operation. Often the brushes, which can costupwards of $20 or more each, are simply ruined when the heel of thebrush, or portions of the bristles adjacent the heel, hardens from thedrying paints.

Various example embodiments of the present general inventive conceptprovide a paintbrush skirt or sleeve that may be made of a softabsorbent fabric, or foam, or the like, the fits snugly on the paintbrush to a point (approximately one and a half to two inches in someexample embodiments) just short of the tip. The skirt or sleeve providesprotection for the heel of the bristles, preventing the drying of thepaint on the upper portion of the bristles during the paintingoperation, and during periods between painting operations in someembodiments. The sleeve can be wet before or after being applied to thebrush, and occasionally wetting the sleeve during a painting operationcan also help prevent paint from drying in the heel. Example embodimentsmay be made of a soft absorbent cotton, or a foam, that retains water orother moisture, and may fit up part of the paintbrush handle like askirt. As paintbrushes are becoming more and more expensive it isimportant to take better care of the brushes, and the sleeves accordingto example embodiments of the present general inventive concept are anovel and beneficial way of taking such care. The sleeves may beconfigured to be hand-washed, which may include being submerged in wateror other liquids.

According to various example embodiments of the present generalinventive concept, a paintbrush sleeve is provided to fit snuggle over aportion of the paintbrush and to retain moisture so as to keep at leasta portion of the bristles of the paintbrush moist during or betweenpainting operations. FIGS. 1-2 illustrate a paintbrush sleeve and methodof use according to an example embodiment of the present generalinventive concept. As illustrated in FIGS. 1-2 , a paintbrush 10includes a handle portion 14, a ferrule 18, and bristles 22. While thepaintbrushes described herein typically include such a ferrule, it isunderstood that various example embodiments of the present generalinventive concept may be applied to paintbrushes having a base portion,instead of a ferrule, between the handle and bristles without departingfrom the scope of the present general inventive concept. As illustrated,a moisture retaining sleeve member 26 is configured to be passed overthe paintbrush to cover at least a portion of the bristles 22 near theferrule 18. The sleeve member 26 may be moistened before or after beingplaced on the paintbrush 10, and may be remoistened while on thepaintbrush 10. In this example embodiment the sleeve member 26 extendsover at least a portion of the ferrule 18 to help maintain the grip overthe desired portion of the paintbrush 10, but in various exampleembodiments the sleeve 26 may fit only over the bristles 22. The sleeve26 is selectively placed to expose a desired portion of the distal endof the bristles 22, and keeps the bristles 22 under the sleeve 26 moistby retaining water or other liquid in the sleeve 26. The sleeve may be amoisture absorbent cloth, or foam, or the like, or any combinationthereof.

FIGS. 3A-B illustrate a paintbrush sleeve and method of use according toanother example embodiment of the present general inventive concept. Inthe example embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 3A-B, a sleeve member 30 isconfigured with a length sufficient to selectively cover the entirety ofthe bristles 22. Thus, during breaks between painting operations, themoisture retaining sleeve 30 can be slid down to keep the entirety ofthe bristles moist or wet, and can be simply slide upward further overthe brush 10 to expose the desired length of the tip of the bristles 22to continue the painting operation. The sleeve 30 may be configured witha length so as to not reach further than the ferrule 18 in the directionof the handle 14, so as to keep from making the handle 14 moist. Invarious example embodiments a sleeve similar to the sleeve 30 of FIGS.3A-B may be formed with a closed end to keep even the very tips of thebristles moist for longer breaks in the painting operation, and may beremoved from the brush to continue painting. While the sleeve member 30of this example embodiment is configured to not extend past the ferrule18 when moved up to continue the painting operation, in various exampleembodiments the sleeve member may extend further in the direction of thehandle.

FIG. 4 illustrates a paintbrush sleeve according to still anotherexample embodiment of the present general inventive concept. In theexample embodiment illustrated in FIG. 4 , a sleeve member 34 isconfigured with a tapered upper portion that fits snugly over at least aportion of the handle 14 of the paint brush 10, which may provide a moresecure fit to prevent any unwanted sliding of the sleeve 34 relative tothe paintbrush during a painting operation.

Various example embodiments of the present general inventive concept mayprovide a paintbrush sleeve to keep bristles of a paintbrush moist,including a sleeve member configured to retain moisture, wherein thesleeve member is configured to snugly fit at least partially over thebristles of the paintbrush. The sleeve member may be configured tosnugly fit at least partially over the bristles and at least partiallyover a ferrule of the paintbrush. The sleeve member may be configured tobe selectively moved to cover an entirety of the bristles of thepaintbrush. The sleeve member may be configured to expose approximatelytwo inches of the bristles at a distal end of the bristles. The sleevemember may be configured with a tapered upper portion configured to fitover a portion of a handle of the paintbrush. The sleeve member mayinclude a foam material configured to retain moisture. The sleeve membermay include a cloth material configured to retain moisture. The sleevemember may be configured to fit over the bristles sufficiently snugly soas to prevent sliding over the bristles when not moved by a user of thepaintbrush.

Various example embodiments of the present general inventive concept mayprovide a method of caring for a paintbrush, the method includingproviding a sleeve member configured to fit snugly over at least aportion of bristles of the paintbrush, placing the sleeve member over atleast the portion of the bristles, and moistening the sleeve member soas to prevent at least the portion of the bristles surrounded by thesleeve member from drying out. The sleeve member may be moistened beforeor after being placed on the paintbrush. The method may further includeremoistening the sleeve member after an interval of time has passed. Thesleeve member may be configured to cover an entirety of a length of thebristles. The method may further include sliding the sleeve member tocompletely cover the length of the bristles to keep the bristles moistbetween painting operations.

Numerous variations, modifications, and additional embodiments arepossible, and accordingly, all such variations, modifications, andembodiments are to be regarded as being within the spirit and scope ofthe present general inventive concept. For example, regardless of thecontent of any portion of this application, unless clearly specified tothe contrary, there is no requirement for the inclusion in any claimherein or of any application claiming priority hereto of any particulardescribed or illustrated activity or element, any particular sequence ofsuch activities, or any particular interrelationship of such elements.Moreover, any activity can be repeated, any activity can be performed bymultiple entities, and/or any element can be duplicated.

It is noted that the simplified diagrams and drawings included in thepresent application do not illustrate all the various connections andassemblies of the various components, however, those skilled in the artwill understand how to implement such connections and assemblies, basedon the illustrated components, figures, and descriptions providedherein, using sound engineering judgment. Numerous variations,modification, and additional embodiments are possible, and, accordingly,all such variations, modifications, and embodiments are to be regardedas being within the spirit and scope of the present general inventiveconcept.

While the present general inventive concept has been illustrated bydescription of several example embodiments, and while the illustrativeembodiments have been described in detail, it is not the intention ofthe applicant to restrict or in any way limit the scope of the generalinventive concept to such descriptions and illustrations. Instead, thedescriptions, drawings, and claims herein are to be regarded asillustrative in nature, and not as restrictive, and additionalembodiments will readily appear to those skilled in the art upon readingthe above description and drawings. Additional modifications willreadily appear to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, departures maybe made from such details without departing from the spirit or scope ofapplicant's general inventive concept.

1-5. (canceled)
 6. A paintbrush sleeve to keep bristles of a paintbrushmoist, comprising: a sleeve member configured to retain moisture;wherein the sleeve member is configured to snugly fit at least partiallyover the bristles of the paintbrush, and wherein the sleeve membercomprises a foam material configured to retain moisture.
 7. A paintbrushsleeve to keep bristles of a paintbrush moist, comprising: a sleevemember configured to retain moisture; wherein the sleeve member isconfigured to snugly fit at least partially over the bristles of thepaintbrush, and wherein the sleeve member comprises a cloth materialconfigured to retain moisture.
 8. (canceled)